Summary and Future Perspectives

This study attempts to gain insights into the cultural history of a Roman provincial town and its inhabitants by looking at various aspects of 5902 bone artifacts (objects made of bones, antler, teeth, and in particular ivory) from Augusta Raurica. In this summary, the results of the investigation and their potential consequences for future studies are summed up under the following aspects: raw materials, technology, decoration, typology, chronology, distribution within the town.

Identification of raw materials: All 5902 small finds studied here are made of bone material, i.e. bones, antler, teeth, and in particular ivory. Because Roman bone artifacts were often heavily fashioned in the process of manufacture, it was necessary to develop a non-destructive method of identifying the raw material, which has not been available so far. The only methods not involving removal of sample material or filing down of the surface of an object are radiological scans or the use of a reflected light microscope. Using a reflected light microscope in combination with the macroscopic methods normally used in archaeo-zoology, the raw materials of as many as two thirds of the bone artifacts of Augst could be identified with certainty. So far Roman bone artifacts have never been examined systematically with regard to their raw-material, even though the scientific analysis of pottery and metal objects has by now become common in archaeology. In my opinion, the results shown here clearly indicate how important such analyses are.

Having made the one-time investment in a reflected light microscope, which can also be used for other purposes, the method of identification introduced here could easily be used by other archaeologists. It would be advisable, however, to have access to an osteological sample collection and to be sufficiently experienced in identifying bone finds.

Raw materials: By far the greatest number of bone artifacts from Augst were made from bones. Antler was only used on average in 3.2% of the artifacts; even in the periods when antler was most frequently used it never reached 10%. Tooth (0.2%) and ivory (0.5%) were only very rarely found.

The clear majority of the bones used as raw material came from bovines. Equines were used seldomly. With the help of measurement charts, it was possible to prove that bone hinges, which mainly belong typologically to the first century AD, could not be produced in Augst. During the early imperial period, local cattle raising was not developed well enough to procure compact bones that would have been thick enough for the production of such hinges. Cattle big enough for this purpose were at the time only bred in Mediterranean countries.

The chronological distribution of antler finds shows that antler was much more important as a raw material in the Early and Late as compared with the Middle Imperial periods. During the Early Imperial period the continuation of Celtic traditions may have been responsible for the high proportion of antler; in the later period, Germanic influences might have had similar effects. In contrast, crafts people working in the Italo-Roman tradition predominantly used bones.

In addition to these cultural factors, the changing history of human settlement in the Augst region must have had an effect on the supply of raw materials. During the town's heyday the environment was probably very unfavourable for red deer owing to the intensive economic use of the area around Augusta Raurica. This only changed with the destruction of the upper town and the subsequent reduction of the settlement area. In order to assess the environmental factors of the region in Roman times it will in future be necessary to study the Celtic, Roman and Early Medieval sites of the area systematically from a palaeo-ecological point of view.

Technology: In this study, an attempt is made for the first time systematically to record traces of manufacture on the bone artifacts in order to reconstruct the manufacturing process of the different types of artifact. So far it has never been possible with any certainty to attribute Roman bone working tools to the workshop that they were used in. Experience gained during a course of experimental archaeology turned out to be very useful for this part of the study. Further experimentation in relation to the bone artifacts from Augst would be desirable, but was unfortunately not possible within the framework of this study. Practical experiments with raw materials can yield interesting insights for the study of all types of archaeological finds and should in future find a more prominent place in the training of archaeologists.

A statistical analysis shows that both the frequency and the type of the manufacturing traces of the Augst bone artifacts depend on the type of raw material; different raw materials have different characteristics and, as could be expected, the Roman crafts people knew which were the best tools for each material. Militaria show a much higher proportion of knife traces than other types of artifacts. This suggests that crafts people used different techniques for making military objects compared with objects for non-military use. In terms of chronology it is remarkable that objects of the first century were often turned. This technique is used less and less in the subsequent period however. In contrast, filing techniques were used increasingly in the second and third centuries. In the fourth century the typology of artifacts changes and with it the frequency of different manufacturing traces.

Decoration: 28.4% of the bone artifacts are decorated. The small proportion of decorated objects can probably be explained by the fact that the majority of bone artifacts were objects of daily use that had no particular significance. The frequency of different types of decoration depends on whether the decoration was carved or turned, thus depending on the manufacturing technique which in turn is determined by the raw material. Relatively, profile and figural relief decoration most frequently appears on ivory, followed by antler. Notch decoration, which is easy to do, is the most frequent type. This can be explained by the fact that the great majority of the bone artifacts is made from bones, which are difficult to work. There is a clear relationship between the frequency and the type of decoration. Simple notch decoration often occurs on objects of daily life, whereas rarer more precious objects are much more likely to have profile or figural relief decoration, which is technically more refined. There appears to be a slight trend from more simple, scratched or notched decoration in the first century towards relief decoration in the third and fourth centuries.

Typology and chronology: In this chapter the different forms are classified typologically and, whenever possible, also chronologically, with reference to other published material. The finds are divided into nine functional groups: «objects of daily use», «objects associated with games/tesserae», «toiletry/medical implements», «jewellery/amulets», «militaria», «vessels/containers», «parts of furniture/furnishings», «objects of unknown use», «scrap material». These functional groups comprise the types and sub-types.

The bone artifacts from Augst are remarkable for their quantity rather than their quality when compared, for example, with those from Avenches. This is primarily due to the much more intensive excavation activity at Augst.

Owing to the dated finds complexes at Augst, many types of bone artifacts can now be attributed much more accurately to a specific period between the first and fourth centuries. There are, however, methodological caveats about the dates obtained from pottery typologies making them less useful. All the same, it is possible to establish the following principal trends. The «objects of daily use» clearly peak in the first century and lose their importance between the second and fourth centuries. The same trend can be observed for «parts of furniture/furnishings» and, with a stronger presence in the second century, «vessels/containers». For «toiletry/medical implements» there is a different, typically Roman spectrum in the first century compared with the fourth century, when combs showing Germanic influence dominate. The functional group «jewellery/amulets», consisting mostly of hair pins, becomes much more important from the second century onwards. «Objects associated with games/tesserae» occur in equal measure between the first and third centuries. In the fourth century the spectrum of types is drastically reduced: Apart from hair pins, combs and objects for textile working, other types hardly play a role any more.

Another sub-chapter discusses the provenance of individual objects: Particularly in the first century, the majority of the different types was not manufactured locally at Augst. This result may be biased towards the present state of research. From the second century a gradual reduction of imports is discernible. The few types that were manufactured in Augst itself, however, form the great majority of the bone artifacts.

When comparing with the bone material from other sites, the main problem is that often not all the small finds are published, nor do they always appear in tables. Tables are now commonly used in archaeo-zoological studies, and in the present era of data processing, it would also be appropriate for those studying other genres of finds to use these modern ways of visualising results in conjunction with the traditional finds catalogues, which of course will always be needed.

Horizontal and vertical distribution: The results concerning the distribution of bone artifacts in Augst are influenced by the fact that the finds context could only be examined for a few individual objects because of the restricted time available for this study. Nevertheless, an examination according to different groups of material is still justified, as the results of this study show.

The distribution of bone artifacts at Augst is closely related to the history of the settlement, which is well known. Early and middle imperial types are predominantly found in the upper town. First century types are relatively rare in the lower town. Inside the Castrum Rauracense the majority of finds are fourth century types as well as antler raw material. Grave goods made from bone are very rare. It is hardly possible to determine social differences on the basis of the distribution of the bone artifacts. It is more likely that the distribution was primarily influenced by functional factors.

The last sub-chapter deals with bone artifacts from selected topographical areas of the town. Of mention is evidence for cupboards with bone hinges found in insulae 24 and 50. A large number of tesserae that probably belonged to a single game set was found in insulae 42 and area 5,B.

Traces of bone manufacture were found in four neighbourhoods. Two earlier workshops dating to ca. 50-120 AD were found in areas 5,G and 7,C. Along the same street in insula 50, another workshop was identified, dating to the first half of the second century, which probably repaired militaria. The most recent bone workshop was operating between ca. 150 and 250 AD in insula 31. In area 5,F scrap material from a workshop manufacturing antler amulets was found, dating to the middle imperial period. No late imperial antler workshop has been located yet.

In connection with the study of the bone artifacts, several subjects areas such as textile manufacture, writing and measuring utensils, objects associated with games and interior furnishing of domestic buildings are touched on. It will only be possible to present final results once the corresponding objects made from other materials such as metal, clay or glass have been studied.

The present study, therefore, is not a final examination of one genre of archaeological finds. The aim is rather to present some results and indicate a few avenues for future research.